Saturday, March 15, 2008
 
For the past week or so you have been asking me on a very frequent basis if I can believe that you are turning seven. Apparently, when you turn seven you become a "big boy" and leave all that "little boy" stuff behind you. You've been just a wee bit excited about this particular birthday. You opened your presents first thing this morning. You got a bunch of spy gear and the Zelda Phantom Hourglass cheat book and a coupon good for one DSlite, GameBoy Advance or Gamecube game of your choice. A little later you and I went to see Horton Hears a Who with Finn, your friend from school. Afterwards we picked up your Zelda birthday cake and then we hit Gamestop where you were lucky enough to find all three of the Nintendo games you were hoping to find. Slowly but surely your little grin spread wider and wider across your face until you were practically beaming. I think you had a successful birthday.
A year ago I probably would have said you were my most difficult child. But I don't think that so much anymore. You still have a hard time walking away from your Nintendo games but other than that, you're really quite a pleasure to have around. Like I said, you love, love, LOVE your game time and have found quite a few people who share your passion for Zelda. At school you've started drawing Zelda maps for your friend Finn and his big brother, Tate, a fifth grader. His mother stopped me the other day to inform me that Tate gets especially excited when Finn brings a map you've made home from school and that they've solved many Zelda levels thanks to your map-making and game-playing abilities. Your piano teacher seems especially smitten with you and even though he's seventeen and especially busy, he often sacrifices his free time to come and play Zelda with you. And then there's your church buddy, Rhodric. He's several years older than you but you'd never guess by the way you two huddle together on the couch and coach each other through level after level of Zelda challenges. As much as I hate your obsession with gaming, you've developed quite a self-esteem from your skills and it's really great to watch you shine.
 You have become quite a worry wart, but not so much about spiders and fires anymore. There's only one thing that seems to rattle your chains and that's Hunter's seizures. He had a bad one just over a year ago which required that you muster some serious courage and brave the dark hallways on his behalf. You are old enough to understand the seriousness of Hunter's condition and as the next oldest, I think you feel a responsibility to look out for him. But you hate it nonetheless and anytime Hunter's sugar plunges so does your heart. You still don't sleep and I'm certain it's because you lay there in the dark imagining the worst (another seizure) until you can no longer stand it and you end up in a sleeping bag on the cold floor in our bedroom. And there you sleep like a log until we have to wake you up for school. I'm sorry it worries you so much, I'm certain you got the worry-wart thing from me, but I know should Hunter ever need you, you'll be there, ready to do anything to save his life.
If there's one thing you really hate, I'd have to guess it's school. You came home from school a few weeks ago and the very first thing out of your mouth was, "Mrs. H is out of control! She marked two of my answers wrong on my homework! You've got to do something about her!" Nothing puts you over the edge faster than homework and piano practice but when you finally settle down and do it, you do a most fantastic job. Your handwriting is gorgeous and you seem to sail through anything you put your mind (and your hand) to. You've become quite the piano player and are always just a few songs behind Hunter, always giving him a run for his money. You are as silly as ever and often complain that we "never believe you"--something else I think you inherited from me. No one ever believed me either, Noah. But you definitely keep our bellies aching with laughter and your eyes are always twinkling with some kind of mischief or joke, just waiting to be unleashed.
A few days ago we were talking about your birthday and how I'd hoped you would be born on St. Patrick's day because that's a lucky day. But instead you were born on the Ides of March, which is supposed to be a very unlucky day. You seemed quite disappointed in me for going into labor two days early, landing your birthday on the unlucky day. But as it turns out Noah, the Ides of March isn't as unlucky as I thought because we got you on that day and that's one of the luckiest things that's ever happened to me. And so now I don't feel like "beware, beware the Ides of March" but more like "celebrate, celebrate the Ides of March" because we're all so glad we got lucky enough to have you! Happy Birthday Noah!
 
P.S. The next two pictures have nothing to do with Noah except that it involves his birthday cake. Just thought you'd like to see what great progress the twins are making in the self-feeding department. My kitchen on the other hand is suffering greatly. What a mess!
 
posted by Shana # 10:38 PM 
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